HRS 126/HIST 126 (GE Area C4) FALL 2010 DR. NYSTROM 2 SECTIONS IN ARC 1011 (M 6-8:50) 2 ONLINE SECTIONS

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1 HRS 126/HIST 126 (GE Area C4) FALL 2010 DR. NYSTROM 2 SECTIONS IN ARC 1011 (M 6-8:50) 2 ONLINE SECTIONS CONTACT INFORMATION Office hours: MW and 2:45-3:15 in Mendocino 2024 Office phone: nystromb@csus.edu (do not use SacCT mail) COURSE TITLE History of Christianity to the Reformation COURSE DESCRIPTION Christianity from Jesus to Martin Luther. Emphasis on the evolution of Christian thought and institutions and the relationship of the Church to popular culture and secular powers. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students who complete HRS/HIST 126 will: understand the general outlines of the history of Christianity from its beginnings to the Reformation; be able to describe the influence of ancient and medieval culture on the development of Christian ideas and institutions; and be able to identify the contributions of women, heretics, and thinkers representing both Judaism and Islam to the development of Christianity. TEXTS B. and D. Nystrom, The History of Christianity: An Introduction W. Placher, A History of Christian Theology Supplementary Readings (posted on SacCT) The Nystrom book is a general introduction to the history of Christianity. It deals with intellectual, doctrinal, political, social, and institutional developments and the relationship of Christianity to the historical and cultural settings in which it grew. The Placher book focuses more narrowly on the history of Christian thought, one of the important themes in this course. The Supplementary Readings highlight specific features of the history of Christianity. Each of the Supplementary Readings is introduced by a headnote (in bold type) written by me.

2 The outlines of the Nystrom and Placher books are not in perfect agreement. There may be times when you find yourself reading in Placher about a topic that has not yet come up, or has already come up, in lecture and/or in the Nystrom book. If this happens, relax and know that all is well. There are always different ways in which to approach a subject, and you will not suffer as as a result. Are the readings are important? Yes. The readings response quizzes are based entirely on the Supplementary Readings, many multiple-choice questions on the midterm and final will be based on the readings, and it will be difficult to earn a score in the A-B range on the essay portions of the midterm and final exams without making effective use of the readings. WEEKLY SCHEDULE OF TOPICS Week 1: Introduction; Jewish, Greek, and Roman Backgrounds to Christianity Week 2: Labor Day Weeks 3-4: Jesus and the New Testament Weeks 5-6: Persecution, Martyrs and Martyrdom, Early Christian Writers, Monasticism Weeks 7-8: Theological Issues, Councils and Creeds Week 9: Midterm Weeks 10-11: The Church in the Early Middle Ages: The Western and Byzantine Worlds Weeks 12-13: The Church in the High Middle Ages, Reform movements, the Papal Monarchy Weeks 14-15: The Church in the Late Middle Ages: Mystics, the Renaissance, the Orthodox Church and the Fall of Byzantium, and a peek at the Reformation EXAMS AND GRADES Your course grade will be based on your performance on four Readings Response Quizzes, the Midterm Exam, and the Final Exam. The Readings Response Quizzes (10 points each) are timed quizzes in which you will have 5 minutes to answer 5 two-point multiple-choice questions based exclusively on the Supplemental Readings. Readings response quizzes will be taken online via SacCT and you will have a period of four days during which to take them (see below for days and times) in which to do each. I will drop your lowest Readings Response Quiz score, so you can miss one without penalty. The midterm and final exams will consist of two parts: a multiple choice section (40 one-point questions) and an essay section (60 points). You must come to campus to take the midterm and final exams. In addition to the regularlyscheduled exam sessions scheduled for ARC 1011, you may take the midterm and final exams at the alternative times described below in the "Schedule of Readings and Exams."

3 Your course grade will be based on the percentage you earn of the 230 possible points in the course: A % C % A % D % B % D 63-67% B 83-87% D % B % F 59% and below C % C 73-77% Please do not tell me at any point during the semester what grade you want or need. SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND EXAMS August 30-September 20: Read Nystrom, chapters 1 and 2; Placher, chapters 1-3; and the following Supplementary Readings: Jesus Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) The Incarnation of the Word (John 1-18) The Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) Paul on Faith and Life in the Spirit (Galatians 5) September 20-October 4: Read Nystrom, chapter 3; and the following Supplementary Readings: The Conversion of Constantine (Eusebius, Life of Constantine 27-31) The Persecution of Christians (Eusebius, Church History 8) Constantine Founds Constantinople (Sozomon, Church History 2.3) The Martyrdom of a Bishop (Martyrdom of Polycarp) A Christian Response to Criticism of Christianity (Origen, from Against Celsus) A Bridge-Burning Attitude toward Pagan Culture (Tertullian, On the Prescription of Heretics 7) A Bridge-Building Attitude toward Pagan Culture (Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 5) Early Monasticism in Egypt (Palladius, selections from The Lausaic History) A Rule for Western Monasteries (excerpts from the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia) October 5-8: Readings Response Quiz #1 (10 points) on all Supplementary Readings assigned through October 4. Test period: October 5 (8:00 a.m.) through October 8 (10:00 p.m.)

4 October 9-18: Read Nystrom, chapter 4; Placher, chapters 4-6, 8; and the following Supplementary Readings: Advice from a Bishop (Ignatius, Letter to the Trallians) Athanasius Against the Arians (Athanasius, First Discourse Against the Arians 2.5-6, 9-10) How the One God is Three (Gregory of Nyssa, from On Not Three Gods ) The Nicene Creed (381) The Definition of Chalcedon (451) Celebration of the Eucharist (Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 23) Augustine on Human Nature (Augustine, Confessions 2.4) The Nestorian Poetry of Mar Narsai October 19-22: Readings Response Quiz #2 (10 points) on all Supplementary Readings since Readings Response Quiz #1. Test period: October 19 (8:00 a.m.) through October 22 (10:00 p.m.) October 25: Midterm (100 points) on all lectures and readings assigned thus far. October 26-November 8: You may also take the midterm on Tuesday, October 26 or Wednesday, October 27 at 6:00 p.m. (rooms to be announced). Read Nystrom, chapter 5; Placher, chapters 7, 9; and the following Supplementary Readings: Pope Leo I and the Petrine Doctrine (Pope Leo I, Sermons 3) Pope Gelasius I on Spiritual and Temporal Power (Pope Gelasius I, Letter to the Emperor Anastasius) John of Damascus Defends the Veneration of Icons (John of Damascus, from On Holy Images and The Fount of Knowledge) Pseudo-Dionysius on the Via Negativa (Pseudo-Dionysius, The Mystical Theology 2) Tales of the Virgin (selections from the sermons of Jacques de Vitry, Étienne de Bourbon, and Caesarius of Heisterbach) Tales of Relics (selections from the sermons of Jacques de Vitry, Étienne de Bourbon, and Caesarius of Heisterbach) Hesychasm and the Divine Light (Symeon the New Theologian, from The Discourses) The Seven Sacraments (excerpt from the Decree for the Armenians issued by the Council of Florence, 1439)

5 November 9-22: Read Nystrom, chapter 6; Placher, chapter 10; and the following Supplementary Readings: Foundation Charter for the Abbey of Cluny Monastic Life at Clairvaux (William of St. Thierry, A Description of the Monastery at Clairvaux) Pope Gregory VII: Declaration of Papal Prerogatives (Pope Gregory VII, Dictatus Papae) Innocent III and Papal Power (Pope Innocent III, Letters and Decrees) The Speech that Launched the First Crusade (Robert the Monk, History of Jerusalem) Two Accounts of the Siege of Jerusalem (Fulcher of Chartres, from History of the Expedition to Jerusalem, and Raymond d Aguiliers, History of the Franks who Attacked Jerusalem) Anselm s Ontological Argument for the Existence of God (Anselm of Canterbury, Proslogion) Thomas Aquinas Proofs for the Existence of God (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, part 1, question 2) November 23-26: Readings Response Quiz #3 (10 points) on all Supplementary Readings assigned since the Midterm. Test period: November 23 (8:00 a.m.) through November 26 (10:00 p.m.) November 27-December 6: Read Nystrom, chapters 7 and 8; Placher, chapters 11 and 12; and the following Supplementary Readings: Two Accounts of Medieval Heresy (Caesarius of Heisterbach, Dialogue on Miracles ) Limiting the Power of the Papacy (Marsiglio of Padua, Defender of Peace) St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun A Troubadour Criticizes the Avignon Papacy (Raimon de Cornet) Eastern Complaints Against the Western Church (Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, Encyclical Letter to the Archiepiscopal Sees of the East) Martin Luther s Ninety-Five Theses December 7-10: Readings Response Quiz #4 (10 points) on all Supplementary Readings assigned since Readings Response Quiz #3. Test period: December 7 (8:00 a.m.) through December 10 (10:00 p.m.). December 13: Final Exam (100 points) on all lectures and readings assigned since the Midterm Exam. You may also take the Final Exam on Tuesday, December 14, or Wednesday, December 15, at 5:15 p.m. (rooms to be announced).

6 ATTENDANCE You must come to campus only for the midterm and final examinations. Do not take this course if you cannot take the midterm and final examinations at the scheduled times (see the "Schedule of Readings and Exams" above). No matter which section you are enrolled in, you may attend lectures in ARC 1011, watch lectures online, or both. It is possible to watch live-streaming lectures if you are on the course's SacCT website a few minutes before class begins. Remember that lectures will not be posted to the SacCT website until late in the afternoon on Tuesdays. GE WRITING REQUIREMENT General Education Area C4 requirements include 1500 words of formal writing. It is expected that this standard will be met on the essay portions of the midterm and final exams. PREPARING FOR THE MIDTERM AND FINAL ESSAYS What are the issues and topics I really want you to understand? Which issues and topics are going to be covered on the essay portions of the midterm and final exams? You will be prepared for the essay questions on the midterm and final exams if you can demonstrate a knowledge of what is presented about each of the following questions and issues in lectures and assigned readings and can write about them clearly and thoughtfully. Prior to the Midterm What steps did the Christian movement take to define orthodoxy (correct belief) in the ancient period? Why was it necessary to define what orthodox Christianity was and wasn t? Christians and Christianity often met with hostility from the Roman state and from pagan culture in general. Why was this the case? What forms did such hostility take? How did Christians respond to it? You should be able to look at a printed text of the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon and explain how each addressed significant theological issues. Be able to describe the teachings of the following: Gnosticism, Montanism, Marcionism, Arianism, Apollinarism, Monarchianism, Monophysitism, Nestorianism. Why were the teachings of these groups considered dangerous by the emerging mainstream church? How did it respond to the dangers posed by these groups?

7 Prior to the Final Reformers and reform movements were often at work in the Western church during the Middle Ages. Identify and describe the aims and activities of the major reforming groups and individuals at work between 600 and What was Scholasticism? Describe the thought of Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, and William of Ockham. Compare the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic) churches in the medieval period, noting their major similarities and differences. Why did these churches come into conflict? When and how did the final break/schism between them occur? What were the essential features of Martin Luther s thought? In what ways did he address popular concerns in the late Middle Ages? In what ways did he depart from traditional Roman Catholic thought and practice? Why were these departures considered unwelcome or threatening by the Roman Catholic Church? ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POLICIES HIST/HRS 126 is a lecture/discussion course with no prerequisites. It may be used to satisfy requirements for both the History and Humanities and Religious Studies majors. It can also be used to satisfy the General Education Category C4 requirement. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. See the campus policy on academic dishonesty at Students who leave the room during exams will not be allowed to return. If this policy creates a documentable difficulty for you, please make necessary arrangements with the Testing Center. Students with disabilities who require special arrangements for examinations should contact me during the first week of the semester.